Mohammad Sharif’s splendid all-round show ousted star-studded Gazi Tank from the race as Victoria Sporting Club booked a super league place in the Ispahani Tea Premier Division Cricket League with an 11-run victory at BKSP yesterday.
Batting at number eight Sharif a 63-ball 71 that contained seven fours and a six as Victoria posted 222 for 9 and then the pace bowler claimed four wickets for 35 runs in his ten-over spell to restrict Gazi for 211-8 in their share of 50 overs.
With their sixth win, Victoria joined Mohammedan, Abahani, Biman and Kalabagan to compete in the super league phase while Cricket Coaching School (CCS) brightened their chances after beating Old DOHS by three wickets in the tenth round game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. CCS improved their tally to ten points and despite the defeat DOHS and BKSP, which defeated Partex by three runs in the other tenth round game at Fatullah, still have a slim chance to qualify as they both have eight points with one match in hand.
Back to the BKSP game, Victoria top order had a terrible performance except opener Arman Hossain who made 78 off 85 balls with 12 fours and a six. Victoria in the end managed a respectable total thanks to late order efforts from Arafat Salahuddin (24 off 50 balls) and Sharif.
Nazmul Hossain, Forhad Reza and Alok Kapali picked up two wickets each ofr Gazi Tank.
In reply, most of the Gazi batsmen got starts but they ultimately paid the price for being too cautious. Nayeem Islam for that matter who recently earned a reputation as a big hitter, slowed down the scoring rate as he made 30 off 63 balls without managing a boundary. Kapali top scored 49 off 73 balls that featured four boundaries and a six.
Taposh Ghosh was the star at Mirpur as the number four batsman anchored the innings with his unbeaten 125-ball 86 that included eleven fours and a six as CCS posted 186-7 in reply to DOHS’s 185-8.
Pakistani Shahbaz Butt was the other notable scorer with 45 off 71 deliveries that featured eight boundaries.
Nasiruddin Faruque was the most successful bowler with 4 for 13.
At Fatullah, Zakaria Masud captured four wickets conceding 27 runs in 6.5 overs after captain Tanvir Haider’s 113-ball 74 as BKSP snatched a three-run victory over lowly Partex.
Pakistani Rashed Hanif made 59 before falling victim to a run-out. Tareq Ahmed (31) and Rezaul Karim (38) made some contribution in the late order, even though Partex were bundled out for 179 runs in 47.5 overs in reply to BKSP’s 182.
SCORES IN BRIEF
Victoria v Gazi Tank
Venue: BKSP
Victoria: 222-9 in 50 overs (Arman 78, Salahuddin 24, Sharif 71, extras 12; Nazmul 2-38, Forhad 2-40, Kapali 2-28).
Gazi: 211-8 in 50 overs (Nazimuddin 12, Mizanur 27, Nafees 37, Kapali 49, Nayeem 30, Forhad 32, Razzak 13 not out, extras 8; Sharif 4-35, Saju 2-34).
Result: Victoria won by 11 runs.
CCS v OLD DOHS
Venue: SBNCS
DOHS: 185-8 in 50 overs (Rumman 25, Anwar 32, Rabbi 20, Taibur 36 not out, extras 16; Rasel 2-53, Nizamuddin 2-22).
CCS: 186-7 in 47.1 overs (Butt 45, Taposh 86 not out, Nazimuddin 18, extras 10; Rubel 2-38, Faruque 4-13).
Result: CCS won by three wickets.
BKSP v PARTEX
Venue: FATULLAH
BKSP: 182 all out in 49.4 overs (Ashiqul 29, Tanvir 74, extras 16; Niyamul 2-28, Azim 4-47, Rezaul 2-35).
PARTEX: 179 all out in 47.5 overs (Hanif 59, Tariq 31, Rezaul 38, extras 9; Mubarat 2-39, Masud 4-27).
Result: BKSP won by three runs.